[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain":3,"chapter-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-10":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Notes on Cultivation at Wulong Mountain",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2272915,4440,"Chapter 10: Chapter Nine: Seclusion","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-10",10,"\u003Cp>After bidding farewell to Tian Bo, Liu Xiaolou ascended the mountain northeastward, not along the usual Gan Zhu Ridge path, but through dense forest and tumbled rocks; halfway up, he reached a massive ancient pine, leapt onto its branches, parted the pine needles, and revealed a hollow beneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the entrance was small, he could still squeeze through—he slid his feet in first, then his legs, drew in his breath and narrowed his waist, raised and straightened his arms, and slipped inside. After dropping about a foot, his feet touched ground; he snapped his fingers, igniting a three-inch flame, revealing a narrow, winding underground tunnel ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the tunnel downward at an angle for a quarter-hour, he turned six or seven corners, replaced several “fire fingers,” and suddenly the space opened into a cavern half an acre in size.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At both ends of the cavern were multiple stone fissures connecting to the outside, letting in gentle, refreshing breezes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the center lay a pool—small but deep, its bottom linked to the Wu Chao River, a potential escape route in emergencies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the Sanxuan Sect’s refuge. According to his master, the cave was originally discovered by the sect’s founder while passing through Wu Long Mountain, and only later did the sect establish itself on Gan Zhu Ridge—truly, the cave came before the gate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A splash echoed as Da Bai suddenly surfaced from the pool, paddled with his webbed feet, hopped out, waddled over to Liu Xiaolou, and quacked twice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During the sect’s evacuations, this creature needed no one’s care—he would usually swim up from the bottom of the Wu Chao River and sometimes even dragged fat fish into the cave, making him a valuable refuge companion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou paid him no mind, sat cross-legged by the pool, and began his cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purpose of Qi Refining is to unblock meridians; the effect of Foundation Establishment is to open the eight extraordinary vessels. Unblocking the twelve regular meridians and opening the eight extraordinary vessels each demand diligent, year-long practice—how could one afford to waste precious years?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Six months have passed without a single inch of progress; if things continue like this, how can he afford to delay? Though Qi Refining cultivators may live a hundred years, if one fails to break through to Foundation Establishment before sixty, the older one grows, the harder it becomes—even if one barely manages it, where is the time left to form a Golden Core? Let alone achieve immortality?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The twelve meridians are divided into hand three yang, hand three yin, foot three yang, and foot three yin. Only after unblocking three of them does one truly enter the path of cultivation, achieving Qi Refining Level One; otherwise, one remains merely a martial artist. Each additional meridian unblocked counts as one level of progress; when all twelve are fully connected and form a complete celestial cycle, one reaches Qi Refining Level Ten, and may begin Foundation Establishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cultivation methods across the world differ: some begin by unblocking all three hand yang meridians at once, others all three hand yin, or all three foot yang, or all three foot yin—most enter this way, for meridians of the same category share similar pathways and elemental affinities, yielding twice the results with half the effort. For example, the Hand Taiyin, Hand Jueyin, and Hand Shaoyin meridians all channel qi from chest to hand, originating from the same source.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou cultivates the Sanxuan Scripture, but its initial approach differs from others: he cultivates one meridian each from hand yin, hand yang, and foot yin—specifically Hand Taiyin, Hand Yangming, and Foot Taiyin—and only at the second level does he begin Foot Yangming among the foot yang meridians. This method is far more difficult; he began at age eight and after ten years, he has barely reached Level Two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to his master, Master Sanxuan, this unique structure of the Sanxuan Scripture ensures balanced cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Each time you open a meridian, you must look ahead and behind, hesitate left and right—extreme caution is never excessive. Balancing yin and yang, harmonizing hands and feet is the true way—this is genuine internal-external unity. If you open three meridians in one hand, one foot, or one yin\u002Fyang group, it’s like having a heavy head and light feet, or a long left and short right—is that the true path? Disciple, rest assured: our sect’s method may be slow, but it is rock-solid. You need never fear yin-yang imbalance or hand-foot asymmetry, nor will you suffer qi deviation when breaking through during seclusion—it’s perfectly stable!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His words still echoed, and they made perfect sense. Liu Xiaolou naturally followed them strictly—he had no choice. He had already embarked on this path; there was no turning back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou was now at Qi Refining Level Two, stuck on the Foot Yangming meridian for nearly three years. First, cultivation resources were scarce; second, he had no profound insights. This time, participating in the Hero Gathering, he gained three spirit stones and one spirit herb, drank deeply of spirit wine, and especially after enduring life-or-death trials, this was the perfect opportunity for breakthrough—this possibility had already shown signs when he fled from Jinping Manor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unblocking meridians means opening the acupoints along them. Each meridian has left and right sides, mutually complementary—one side is real, the other false; if the left is real, the right is false, and vice versa. One need only cultivate one side; the other will naturally open through resonance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Xiaolou had trained both sides, but ultimately chose the right side, which he was more accustomed to. His current meridian, Foot Yangming, has ninety acupoints—forty-five on each side. He cultivates only the right side; once each acupoint on the right is unblocked, the corresponding points on the left will open automatically.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Foot Yangming meridian begins at Chengqi and ends at Yangming. Liu Xiaolou still had three points unopened: Hegu, Neiting, and Lidi. With three spirit stones in hand, he prepared to push through all at once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took out a spirit stone, slapped away Da Bai, who had nosed up drawn by the scent, and gripped the stone tightly in his palm. Fine threads of spiritual energy seeped through his palm’s skin into his body.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Utterly refreshing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spiritual energy was slowly drawn from the spirit stone, transformed into true qi usable by the cultivator. Spirit stones are the essence of heaven-and-earth spiritual energy—dense in power, extremely pure, and far better suited for cultivators to refine; the refinement efficiency typically reaches seven or eight tenths.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once extracted, this energy flowed through his body under the Sanxuan Scripture’s guidance, washing and refining it. A small portion of impurities was expelled through sweat on his skin or wisps of blue smoke rising from his crown; most was transformed into true qi, accumulating in the meridians, surging toward Hegu acupoint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hegu acupoint, when open, resembles a valley; when closed, a mountain. Now half-open, half-closed, once fully unblocked, it dispels wind, clears heat, opens the orifices, and stabilizes the mind—crucial as the reservoir where true qi settles in the Foot Yangming meridian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During his escape from Jinping Manor, the smoke had been so thick he could barely see beyond a foot—but even then, as he dashed through it, he always avoided obstacles at critical moments. What seemed perilously close was actually due to his calm mind—the sign that Hegu was nearly unblocked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was partly due to the several mouthfuls of spirit wine rich in spiritual energy, partly from six months of mental stillness, and partly from the mindset of facing death and finding life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, seated in meditation, Liu Xiaolou guided true qi to strike the acupoint. The once impregnable point began to subtly loosen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suppressed his excitement, striving to keep his mind calm, like a detached observer, directing true qi to repeatedly strike the acupoint, prying open its foundation inch by inch. Each pry sent a sharp pain from the point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When hungry, he ate a rice cake; when tired, he calmed his spirit and rested; sometimes he roasted a fat fish Da Bai had brought, dispersing his thoughts. Days passed like this, the Hegu acupoint’s “opening” growing larger, more true qi flowing through, accumulating in the Yuan Pool.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On a day when the true qi accumulated in the Yuan Pool reached a critical mass, suddenly the acupoint burst wide open—true qi flowed in effortlessly, without the slightest resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, Hegu acupoint sent an overwhelming sensation of bliss; Liu Xiaolou’s spirit surged—he truly felt the “clearing heat and opening orifices.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hegu acupoint was unblocked!\u003C\u002Fp>",1428,"2026-06-19T23:11:25.549Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4551e49bb983304f67e5069e77ed46c5235c78d5180bc6ae49ea5c55e8d79257","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-11","notes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-chapter-9",638,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fnotes-on-cultivation-at-wulong-mountain-cover.jpg"]